Daytona 500: Could Danica Patrick Win Pole Position?

Danica Patrick set a pace others failed to match during Saturday practice for the Daytona 500.

Danica Patrick turned heads and generated buzz by logging the fastest speed of 196.220 miles an hour during Saturday Sprint Cup practice in advance of next weekend’s Daytona 500.

Her speedy run places her among the favorites to win the coveted pole position during Sunday’s official qualifying session. Practice is a traditional prelude in Nascar that gives drivers a chance to shake out their cars and perhaps make a few more tweaks to engines, suspensions and aerodynamics before qualifying.

It is also an opportunity for drivers to engage in the mind games that will continue during the race and throughout the season.

While a strong showing in practice is often a sign of what is to come in qualifying and in the race, there are variables that make picking favorites complicated. Some racers intend to put rivals on notice and possibly intimidate and demoralize them by showing their speed during practice. Others hold back hoping to stun the competition with a little extra, unexpected performance on qualifying day.

While Patrick looks like a serious threat now, it is hard to say where she will land as the drama of qualifying plays out. Her practice speed tops Carl Edwards’ pole-position run of 194.738 for last year’s Daytona 500. But the Sprint Cup cars were redesigned for the 2013 season and it is not clear how much faster they might be compared with last year’s models — or how much other drivers may be sandbagging.